A/N: I'm back from my vacation, and the first thing I'm doing is giving you guys the edited version of this chapter, because I have been reading it over and over, and realised that it does not look to be of satisfactory quality in my eyes, and I felt that the part about the Citadel being destroyed came too soon, so I had to rectify that.
Other than that, please enjoy reading.
Akshka: Thanks for liking the story.
Chapter seven: Assembling Warriors
The old machines were in a state of disarray, no number of repeated simulations and streaming of codes able to give a single answer to how the current state of things had become so complicated and hard to understand.
Something like this was impossible back then; even with the Human individual Evangeline Shepard's interference by submitting evidence of the existense of the old machines and the true purpose of the Citadel itself, the arrogant persona of the Citadel Council should have guaranteed that the consequences of her interference should be minimised.
And yet, somehow, these newcomers had not only utterly demolished the carefully tailored status quo, but also proved to be far more powerful than they expected, something they had to rectify quickly.
The United Allied Powers, the name by which the conglomerate of galactic factions that ruled their parts of the universe, were the cause of all the change that occured throughout the galaxy.
By dismantling the Batarian Hegemony and reuniting the Quarians with the Geth, and making first contact with the Krogan, they had gained more allies and further increased their strength to challenge the Citadel, even though they already outclassed, outmatched and outnumbered the latter in the first place.
Most unexpected, however, was the decision of the Turian Hierarchy to leave the Council for the UAP; specifically for the most powerful of them all, the Thedosian Empire.
The Empire's foundation of its advanced civilisation was something too unfamiliar with anything the machines ever came across, and was something thought nonexistent before, but no longer.
This strange arcanotechnology the Empire employed, a supposed fusion of magic and science, it was an enigma; too complicated for the machines to understand, too strange for them to comprehend.
Of course, they used no such thing in building their ship arnaments, and some of their technology did not involve – or at least, did not completely involve – the usage of magic in their creation, but that was as far as it went.
Their , weapons, cybernetics, FTL drives, everything save their combat abilities were derived from their technology, making it such an integral part of their society that they were masters of it, their speciality in the tech only rivalled by the Coalition.
Then there was the Korprulu Alliance.
Even though they were the weakest of the three major factions, they still had more power than the machines and Council combined, not only with their technology – though the Zerg had no need for such a thing, given that they were a highly adaptive, constantly evolving species of bio-organic creatures that would definitely adapt to the machines' technology – but also with this other unknown power they called psionics.
Psionics, the power of the mind. Again, something thought impossible to exist, but with the arrival of the Kroprulu Alliance, they were once again proven wrong in the most humiliating fashion possible.
One of them, the leader of the machines, contacted one of its subordinates hidden within the Citadel's network.
"Catalyst," It rumbled, its synthetic voice deep and imposing, "What is the situation at the Citadel?"
Its subordinate, identified as Catalyst, replied, "Harbinger, The UAP have stationed a large fleet numbering over a thousand ships to blockade the relay leading to the station itself, all personnel staying a good distance from the station."
They were stationing such a huge fleet at the Citadel? For what purpose could it exactly serve, Harbinger thought as he ran all the possible scenarios through the lines of code that composed his soul.
Could they be doing so in order to prevent any more Council forces from reinforcing the Citadel, should the two sides be at war once more? A perfectly feasible action to take in order to deny the enemy a functioning ship factory – the only one the Council currently had, since they were reliant on the Keepers stationed there to build ships for them.
That, however, was not the real reason, given that the huge difference in technology and numbers would surely result in the UAP's victory. No, it had to be something else, something Harbinger – in all of his years of wisdom and experience – could not even place his synthetic equivalent of a finger on.
For now, they could only wait and watch, closely monitoring what limited activity they could see from the UAP before truly acting, lest they risk compromising their plans for the Cycle.
"Catalyst, continue to watch out for anything important," Harbinger ordered on the comms channel, "Especially if the Empire decides to try something."
"Of course, Harbinger, nothing will stop the Cycle," Catalyst acknowledged as the channel cut it's link.
He could only agree with Catalyst; even with the Rachni and other ex-outlawed Council races as allies for the UAP, they would not stop the Cycle at all.
They would never stop the Cycle as long as Harbinger lived, because he was leader of the machines. He would make sure the UAP falls before their might and be harvested to continue the Cycle.
No one would stop the Cycle. Ever.
IIOII
The colony of New Halamshiral lay drifting far from the nearest sun, bordered on two sides by two other garden worlds resplendent with their flourishing flora that dotted their surfaces, though there was a heavy presense of the golden-plated Protoss ships on one, while dull grey, utalitarian Terran ships occupied the other, the Korprulu Alliance having laid claim to the neighbouring planets.
A sizeable fleet comprised by the ornately designed yet functional Thedosian ships mainly coloured a shining obsidian black, and the pragmatic avian-like bright orange Turian ships maintained vigilance in space, protecting their newly-established colony from any enemy that dared attempt to breach the blockade made around the mass relay in the system.
New Halamshiral was meant to forge better relations between the Turian Hierarchy and Thedosian Empire; just because the two factions were allies did not mean there were civilians mistrusting of either side, posing a problem to future relations between the two.
When the Hierarchy chose to leave the Council for the Empire, most of the older generation Turians had an active level of mistrust of Thedosians, regarding the horrifying number of casualties they had sustained in their brief but bloody war with the Empire.
What really caused the shift in allegiance was when Thedosian armies had began deported liberated slaves from Batarian territory, some of the Turian ex-slaves even regaling their fellow kinsmen with tales of the bravery and honor of the UAP's soldiers, and of the slaves who were rearmed by their liberators to fight their former masters.
What the ex-slaves lacked in training and experience, they made up for in determination and dedication in the movement to exact bloody revenge on the scum of the galaxy, the scum that forced them from their families, and those who forced the lower-class Batarians to lay down their lives for them with their abysmal charisma.
They were, for lack of a better word, indebted to the UAP, especially the Empire as it spearheaded the campaign against the Hegemony and helped rearm most of the freed slaves, though they were either cautious or simply afraid of the Dragonkin – and by extension the shapeshifting mages and Zerg – given how brutally they killed their enemies, at least by their standards.
Stories of hordes of monstrous creatures charging Batarian ranks whilst their allies pick off elements of sniper teams and leading officers from afar, large, bipedal creatures clad in golden armor cleaving apart their adversaries with huge axes that glowed a crystaline blue with Humans in large power armor gunning them down, the craven and bullying, the wicked and inhuman, all in the span of a few weeks.
Of course, even with the older generation Turians' mistrust of the UAP, given that their pride was injured as the Hierarchy's strength was easily whittled down by their forces in a brief but bloody war, they could not disavow the fact that the Asari simply used the Batarians, Geth, and all the other 'boogeymen' of the galaxy as an excuse to stay on top of the pile, and so an overwhelming majority voted to leave the Council without a second thought, the Turian Councilor himself included.
Right now, one of those younger generation Turians was taking the opportunity to interact with some UAP personnel, in the form of a part-Dragonkin Blademaster in Elfin form, a Terran Ghost operative in a white bodysuit, and a Dwarven warrior in ornate, shining armor.
Said Turian in question was of the rank of Captain of the 26th Armiger Legion by the name of Achamus Posdos, recently promoted through continued service in the Hierarchy's millitary.
Though his introduction was a little shaky at first, given the aloof attitude of the Ghost and the menacing glare the Dragonkin gave him when he got slightly too close to the Ghost, who he assumed was his girlfriend, he managed to get along with them thanks to the help of the Dwarf sitting next to him at the bar counter.
"So what brings ya here to New Halamshiral, Achamus?" The Dwarf warrior asked the Turian as he chugged down a mug of beer.
"Just on shore leave for a few days before I need to report back," Achamus replied as he took another sip of his alcoholic drink, and then lowering his voice to a whisper, "Though I must ask, Bhaledon, how does one fall for a Thedosian?"
The now christened Bhaledon looked at Achamus like he had done the most ridiculous thing ever, thankful that Achamus did not blurt the question out loud.
He lowered the volume of his voice to whisper back, "Are you just asking out of curiosity, or perhaps..."
The suggestive tone of the Dwarf had caused the Turian to become embarassed, though it was hard to tell whether he was blushing or not as his chitinous plates did not turn any shade of red, or any alien equivalent of a flushed skin colour, but he did turn away his head to hide it, giving the Dwarf the answer he needed.
"So it's that kind of situation, eh?" Bhaledon teased in an innocent manner.
"Leave him be, Bhaledon," The part-Dragonkin said dryly in a distinct Japanese accent, as he chugged down what seemed to be his eighteenth glass, shocking the Turian bartender behind the counter as he could only get his order for more brandy, "I find it hard for a first-timer like him to really capture his girl's heart."
Bhaledon only harrumphed and countered, "Look who's talking; a thousand-year old who's never had a single girlfriend his whole life. Until now."
The part-Dragonkin only chugged down his glass promptly upon hearing the retort, his lips curling into a thin line shy of a smile as he relished the strong alcoholic content of his drink, after which he simply asked for a whole bottle.
Bhaledon Hammeriver's ancestry could be traced all the way back to when the Iron Horde had first invaded Azeroth through the Dark Portal that originally connected to a ruined world in the twisting nether, wielding technology that was more advanced than what even the Alliance employed.
His ancestor, Balmus Hammeriver and the crew of the ship he was commanding had sacrificed themselves in order to buy the Godwraith time to fire, and for that he was posthumously awarded the Golden Lion badge, the highest honour any Azerothian could ever receive.
"So what are your plans after our date, Kiritsugu?" The Terran Ghost asked monotonely, though she did inch her body closer to her boyfriend.
Slamming down another empty glass, he grimaced as his earlier joyful expression soured into a frown.
"There are yet more Asari protests outside Turian embassies in Asari space, which are only increasing in number with the recent news that the Hierarchy is labouring to create its very first AI," Kiritsugu grumbled, irritated about the Asari response, "So what about you, Nova? Anything Valerian needs you to do afterward?"
"That's Emperor Valerian to you, boyfriend," Nova narrowed her eyes at the part-Dragonkin, "And it's the usual patrols around the edge of Korprulu space, unless I have a special operation I need to undertake outside of UAP space."
Nova Terra was no ordinary Ghost operative, and she had actively served both the previous and current emperor of the Dominion, all the while carrying a heavy burden as she forgot completely about her past after undergoing a memory psi-wipe.
She could hardly care about her ancestry or whatever social status they carried before she was born, but after the battle with Amon in the Void as all three races of the Korprulu Alliance worked to defeat an ancient enemy, a shockwave containing psionic energy had erupted in a wide radius that everyone present could feel.
At that time, all her memories that were originally erased had come back to haunt her in full force, causing her to suffer an emotional breakdown which resulted in her being quarantined until she had calmed down.
Not only did she remember the awful past she had as a lonely child, she remembered her one-time love, Gabriel Tosh, the then leader of the Specters – next-generation Ghosts – and how he died.
More specifically, he died by her hand.
The commander of the then rebel group known as Raynor's Raiders, Jim Raynor, had chosen to enlist the help of Gabriel's Specters instead of believing her lies about Tosh betraying him, and as a result, he managed to kill him during the Raider's daring skirmish on Korhal when Arcturus was still in power.
When Valerian found out that she had regained her memories, he had offered to remove her painful memories using a psi-wipe, but instead, she chose to retain them and deal with the pain they gave her for the rest of her life.
Her next love was somewhat surprising; few Terrans ever dared to try to even date Thedosian Dragonkin, even though there were plenty of Dragonkin who formed intimate relationships with Humans ans other humanoid species as well.
And it came in the form of the Emperor's older brother.
Kiritsugu himself was supposed to inherit the throne when his father sacrificed himself, but instead he left it to his younger brother, Amarthathor, and became the Supreme Admiral of the Ethereal Armada, the most decorated fleet of the entire Empire due to its service in the Eternal war.
A blademaster by nature, he utilised a katana with deadly speed and graceful fighting finesse against his enemies, with said katana currently strapped to his person by his belt.
He had the distinct snow white hair of his species dropping past his shoulders and his right arm covered in the markings alongside the right side of his face, with pointed ears extending out of his crown of hair that twitched at the body contact being initiated by Nova beside him.
His armour looked extremely similar to that of the ancient Human Samurai, with the exception of several crystals at key points and neon lights on the breastplate, a linen mantle lined with thick brown fur draping down his back.
"But did you just say the Hierarchy is creating an AI?" Nova inquired as she placed a hand around her boyfriend's waist, causing Kiritsugu to adopt a shit-eating grin on his face.
Achamus finished the last sip of ryncol in his glass, and dryly answered, "You heard correctly, Nova, and believe me, the Hierarchy is just about as irritated about the numerous Asari protests and complaints about the whole damn thing."
"Huh, and I thought you Turian soldiers had a protocol to follow, Acahmus," Bhaledon commented as he ordered another refill of beer.
"And after our brief war with the UAP, I can definitely say that High Command should print hardcopies of every military protocol and wipe their asses with them," Achamus retorted, gulping down his glass of ryncol, not noticing the look of surprise elicted from the stout dwarf.
As Achamus and Bhaledon continued their conversation, Kiritsugu tuned out the two, focusing on his drinking spree as he finished the bottle in his hand.
Visibly surprised by the amount of alcohol he consumed, Nova could not help but clap for him – only loud enough for Kiritsugu to hear – whilst flashing an attractive smile that always managed to lighten the part-Dragonkin's mood whenever it was soured.
Unfortunately, it was cut short, as an alarm began to ring throughout the entire colony, followed by Kiritsugu's omni-tool alerting him of a transmission.
A pitch-black glow became visible on his right arm, the holographic device showing the face of a Turian with blue facial markings in black, form-fitting armor bearing a serious expression.
"This had better be important, Garrus," Kiritsugu said in an annoyed tone.
"It is, I'm afraid," Garrus confirmed, "A Collector attack force is currently engaging the colony's defense fleet in space, and the bordering colonies as well."
Kiritsugu's mood immediately sobered as he asked, "How strong?"
"Enough to at least keep the fleets distracted for a while," Garrus reported, hefting a rifle in hand.
Kiritsugu sighed in utter irritation as he slammed down his last glass of brandy, before paying the bartender a small sack of gold coins on the counter, even though he was more concerned for his life at that moment.
"Why, of all times, did an attack have to happen now?" Nova groaned as she unslung her long rifle from her back, "Just when it was about to get to the good part..."
Before she could say anything further, she was brought out of her thoughts by a deep, yet brief kiss on her lips, Kiritsugu holding her hair with a gauntleted hand.
Pulling his lips away reluctantly, he then told Nova with a gentle, affectionate smile, "We can continue after we teach the Collectors a lesson, alright?"
The silky, husky voice in which he told Nova was more than enough to make her kiss him back, though it was only a chaste kiss given the urgency of the situation; Kiritsugu had to summon all of his restraint in order to quell the lustful beast within him, not willing to get to that stage too fast without Nova's consent.
Letting out a low growl that conveyed his raging lust threatening to burst, he quickly ran out of the establishment to command the defending troops of the colony, Achamus and Bhaledon following close behind.
No time like the present, Nova mused to herself as she cocked the rifle, Just like old times.
IIOII
All across space, UAP ships engaged in space battles with the Collector ships pouring out of the mass relay like a rampaging swarm of locusts, bright streaks of crystaline blue and emerald green clashing against lances of golden amber as the defense fleets valiantly made their stand against the invasion force.
Tiny projectiles of sapphire blue slugs flew forth from the Turian ships in limitless volleys, the Turians unwilling to let the UAP forces steal the spotlight all for themselves as they began forming a blockade around the colony of New Halamshiral, unleashing swarms of small Destroyer fighters against the corkscrew-shaped enemy ships.
As more enemy ships began emerging from the relay, a few Thedosian ships began initiating micro-portal jumps to emerge within Collector ranks, flashes of azure blue blanketing the cold, empty void.
Some diverted full power to their thrusters, moving too fast for the Collectors to avoid a collision course as Thedosian ships rammed hard and fast into Collector ships, their thin armor standing no chance against emeril frontal armor. Others let loose broadsides of armored missiles that unleashed powerful by-product blasts upon destruction, bypassing kinetic barriers and melting sections of hull plating.
The battle was largely in favor of the UAP, mainly given their technological advantage, as over a dozen ships had already fallen under the relentless barrage of energy beams and metal projectiles.
It was not without loss, however, as a few Turian ships were already destroyed by the amber beams that ripped through their armor like a knife cutting melting butter, focused fire eventually overloading the new golden yellow shielding of the avian-like ships.
And though many Collector ships lay adrift in space, their hollow carcasses bearing huge holes or red glowing slashes where large pieces of hull plating had been gouged out, some had managed to get close enough to launch shuttles towards the planet's surface, tiny dots of metal starting to suffer heavy burns as they broke through the planet's atmosphere.
As they neared the desginated landing area, several streaks of lightning and emerald green began crossing the skies, obliterating many shuttles trying to land just outside of the walled city where a veritable army was already garrisoning it's walls.
Those that managed to land were already unloading thousands of troops that began charging the walls, uncaring of their own lives; all that mattered was following the master's orders and killing any who opposed the machnes' return to the galaxy.
The night sky lit up brightly as the fleets clashed in a space battle of large proportions, many of the explosions lighting up more brightly than the stars themselves.
Behind the walls, scores of Thedosian archers wielding bows began lining up at or below the ramparts as Turians began manning turrets or cocking Exso rifles, slugs of sapphire blue showering their enemies as they covered for their allies while they prepared.
Other Thedosians wielding rifles – much like their Turian counterparts – also joined the fray and began peppering the enemy with beams of light being fired from their guns, whilst large artillery pieces continued shooting shuttles out of the sky, thinning the herd of enemies to mow down.
Kiritsugu stood atop the ramparts and eyed the approaching horde with a scornful gaze; he would teach these genocidal slaves a harsh lesson in what happens when they cross the Empire or any of its allies, and he would slaughter them to the last being.
Raising his katana, he shouted at the top of his voice to his troops, "READY YOUR BOWS!"
Immediately, with the efficiency of a well-oiled machine, all Thedosian archers on the ramparts drew their bowstrings on his command, golden yellow arrow shafts materialising in their hands.
"RELEASE ARROWS!" Kiritsugu commanded, waving his katana at the approaching Collector horde.
At once, the archers fired, a hail of energy arrows raining down on the encroaching horde like an endless shower of raindrops, killing many before they could get close to the walls.
Achamus watched the display of arrows with awe and wonder, whilst still firing at the horde without concern for his supply of ammunition, killing a good score of Collectors in the process.
It was, admittedly, his first battle with Thedosians on his side, and already he could see the fruits of their training being reaped to their fullest, each arrow finding their mark, never missing, never failing to kill an enemy with well-placed aim.
Suddenly, he could hear rumbling in the sky, as dark clouds suddenly began to gather and block out the stars, sparks of electricity becoming visible in the skies. Without warning, they slammed down on the approaching Collector forces, many of them electrocuted to death by the high amounts of electricity coursing through their very veins.
Kiritsugu himself only observed the battle, Bhaledon doing the same as he twirled his hammer in grim anticipation, his beard sticking out of his airtight helmet.
Nova herself refused to be outdone by any of the Thedosian archers, firing bullets with a lethal aim that would put many snipers of similar caliber to shame. Every spent shell that was ejected clattered to the floor, the sound barely audible over the cacaphony of gunfire raging throughout the day.
Whistling as she saw the large arcs of lightning do much damage to the enemy ranks, she commented as she ejected another spent shell, "That is definitely some supernatural stuff."
"That was only one of many reasons why the UAP won the wars with the mercenaries and Batarians, lassie," Bhaledon added.
Soon, Kiritsugu faced the lines of archers waiting below the ramparts, barking in a piercing voice, "FULL VOLLEY!"
And after waving his katana towards the Collectors once more, the archers joined their commrades on the walls by adding to the hail of arrows being fired, slaughtering so many of the hated monstrosities that their bodies began littering the landscape like a swarm of rabbits that died due to some unknown pestilence that plagued them.
Yet even as the horde became thinner and thinner, some still managed to get close enough to the walls and fire their weapons, golden amber beams piercing through flesh as Turian corpses began to fall from the ramparts.
As if it was not enough, some of the surviving enemy shuttles began deploying what looked like metal discs that increased in size, the defenders realising that they were actually stairs leading up the wall.
Within minutes, Kiritsugu barked the command for some of the archers to draw their swords, cleaving a Collector in half as it tried to shoot him at point blank range.
Bhaledon also smashed the head of another with his hammer, expertly wielding his weapon with the precision of a master warrior.
The Turian troops on the ramparts also began slashing at their enemies with their omni-blades, hot plasma burning through flesh and bone as the smell of burnt flesh mingled with the air.
Loud buzzing could soon be heard as the defenders fought for their lives, becoming more and more audible by the second. Looking out onto the horizon, they could see swarms of what looked like tiny insects approach their position from within the Collector ranks.
No one knew what their exact purpose was, but one thing was for sure; if the Collectors unleashed them, they would not want them anywhere near the city.
"Incoming!" Kiritsugu barked as he breathed fire on the swarm of insects nearing his position, burning them until they were nothing more than charred corpses before they could even come close towards him.
But before the insects could start wreaking havoc among the troops, they were intercepted by what appeared to be an iridiscent barrier surrounding the ranks of defenders fervently firing on the Collectors.
Fight the wicked, slay the craven, protect the weakened; that was the ethos of the Empire since the day it was founded, never changing in the slightest despite all the wars it had fought during its existense.
They would not back down from an unprovked invasion such as this one, and they would not spare any craven, genocidal fanatics that believed themselves gods of the universe, able to dictate the fate of the younger races just because they said so.
They would fight, and they would triumph.
"Hold fast, men!" Kiritsugu rallied the defenders as gouts of fire spat forth from his mouth, "Do not allow the Collectors any more ground than they already have seized!"
"You heard the admiral, men!" An Elf shouted, "For the Empire!"
Ragged warcries were roared by the Thedosian soldiers as they renewed their defense against the invading Collector forces, the Turians retaliating with equal measure alongside their allies.
Bhaledon crushed and mauled any Collectors that tried to swarm both his and Achamus' position, allowing the Turian to focus his fire on those still too far for the Dwarven warrior to kill.
With the aid of the magi present defending the colony with magically-erected barriers and storms of lightning and fire battering the thinned hordes, victory was near, and the Dragonkin admiral could taste it in the air.
"Admiral Kiritsugu, come in!" A frantic voice, Turian in nature, suddenly blared in the Dragonkin's ear, making him wince at the volume of the warning.
"What is it now!?" He growled, settling for talking through his omni-tool since he removed his communicator out of irritation, "Can't you see that I am fighting a war right now!?"
"Sorry for the sudden warning, but we're detecting a very wierd energy signature at your very location right now!" the Turian shouted over the comms channel, a cacophony of war defeaning his voice on his side.
Surely enough, Kirirtsugu could detect a huge spatial distortion in the time continuum itself, a large sphere of electrical lightning growing in size and power right behind him.
Unfortunately, it was very close to Nova at that moment, who had also detected the fluctuating power in the distortion through her psionic powers; unlike most Thedosian magi, she could not effectively use her psionics to instantaeneously teleport from one location to another, putting her in effective danger.
Had she had enough time, she would have been able to at least escape the radius of the impending blast of energy, but as it was, the sphere of lightning was about to explode at any minute.
Without sparing a second thought, he fadestepped and pushed Nova away from the sphere of lightning in the nick of time, just before it exploded, sending a shockwave of raw mana throughout the colony that thankfully killed all of the insect swarms in the blink of an eye without harming any of the defenders somehow.
A huge cloud of dust formed in the explosion's wake, obstructing many of the defenders' vision as they quickly refocused on their enemies threatening to overrun the ramparts, forcing Bhaledon and Achamus to pull back from their position to Kiritsugu's.
A wave of Kiritsugu's hand created a wind spell that dispersed the dust, revealing a Human man as tall as he was.
Tall would be an understatement; he was a giant of a man, clad in crimson armor that was extremely bulky and undoubtedly heavy – much like a standard Terran marine's armor – except that he was wearing no helmet with a domed polarised visor of any sort, with a large golden skull bearing wings emblazoned on the breastplate.
A large cape, the same colour as his armor with golden trimming, draped down past his golden-encrusted massive pauldrons that bore the same golden-winged skull as his breastplate, bearing the insginia of a black raven with a blood drop adorning its back.
The Human man himself looked to be rather old, his face bearing several lines and wrinkles, his crew cut hair turned white with strands of grey matting it. His right eye seemed to have been blinded at some point, a balefully glowing cybernetic eye replacing where his right eye used to be.
In his hands was a large hammer that looked ridiculously ornate in Kiritsugu's eyes, the golden-plated head adorned with the golden-winged skull on two sides, but at the same time emitted sparks of electricity that danced like butterflies on a flower.
Without the armor and large battlehammer, he would have passed off as a rather strong man for his age, fit and able to work despite his age. However, the Dragonkin admiral could see that he was a warrior – one who has seen many years of bloodshed and violence.
As he stood up, he looked visibly lost, unsure of where he was currently at as he scanned his surroundings with a cautious eye.
When he laid eyes on Kiritsugu, he looked visibly angry – just because of his appearance, most likely – and almost began to swing his hammer at the admiral himself, prompting Kiritsugu to motion for Nova to stay behind him.
"For the Emperor!" He roared, almost making the Dragonkin draw his sword on instinct to kill him.
The Dragonkin's suspicions were somewhat misplaced, as the hammer smashed the head of a Collector into gory paste, splattering it on both him and the unknown warrior before him.
As he slung his hammer over his shoulder, he said in a rather disdainful tone, "I do not know where I am, Eldar, but for now we fight these abominations as allies."
From his manner of expression, he looked terribly reluctant to even fight alongside him; he had probably fought Elves as bitter enemies before, but he was not so foolish as to uselessly throw away his life and make more enemies when there was a common enemy to fight.
Kiritsugu loosed an arrow towards the human, making him tense as it struck another Collector that was about to kill him from behind.
Facing their enemies back to back, Kiritsugu could not help but smile wryly as he reslung his bow over his torso and drew his katana, assuming an offensive stance as his counterpart did the same.
"I do not know where you come from, and whatever enemies you have fought, stranger, but I believe we should focus on slaughtering the enemies before us, rather than try to slay each other, should we not?" He said, bearing his fangs in anticipation.
"Of that, I can agree with you on," The human said as he swung his hammer in a wide arc, smashing his enemies with a righteous fury similar to that of a Thedosian warrior.
"By the way, my name is Kiritsugu Sardothien, Supreme Admiral of the Ethereal Armada of the Thedosian Empire," The Dragonkin introduced himself, earning a scoff from the giant Human, "What is yours?"
He remained disdainful of Kiritsugu, but nonetheless answered, "I am Chapter Master Gabriel Angelos, of the Blood Ravens Chapter, of the Space Marines that serve the Imperium of Man."
Kiritsugu's smile only grew as he sliced off the head of another Collector, saying, "Yet another seperate Human faction? Why am I not so surprised? And what is with calling me an Eldar?"
"You have the physical characteristics of an Eldar, Kiritsugu," Gabriel spat, "Yet you act as if you are unfamiliar with the name of your species."
"What do you mean, Eldar?" Kiritsugu inquired, "I am three-quarters Elven, for Sossedov's sake!"
"Elven?" Gabriel repeated the word as if it was foreign on his tongue, "All the Eldar I have met and fought have never called themselves by such a name."
"Neither have I ever heard of this Imperium of Man, laddie," Bhaledon countered, chiming in with Kiritsugu as he spilled the entrails of yet another Collector, "But ya got the makings of a warrior, I can say that much!"
"As if this day could get any better!" Achamus commented, expertly placing a shot that shredded a Collector's head.
Hacking and slicing, smashing and crushing, the duo took all their frustrations out on the enemies before them, Kiritsugu being terribly fed up with the Collectors for interrupting such a romantic date with his woman, Gabriel being angry about landing in alien, foreign territory.
The former was focused anger and discipline, hacking away at his foes with the promise of an utterly painful death, the latter barely restrained fury that threatened to boil over, vowing to smite the abominations in the name of his supreme god.
There seemed to be no end to the abominations charging their position, the defenders feeling like a whole eternity had passed since the invasion had begun, when in reality the sun was just beginning to rise in the distance, the pitch back sky turning a golden auburn.
As the golden sunlight bathed the planet's surface and illuminated the battlefield, the huge number of corpses could be seen by any who were on the ramparts, rivers of blood flowing through the battlefield, painting the land blood red.
Just then, one of the Collectors began illuminating in a bright light, a deep, synthetic voice emitting from it.
"Assuming control."
The Collector's body was still illuminating in such a bright colour, his sudden transformation attracting the attention of Kiritsugu and the others while the rest of the troops were still fighting.
It then rumbled arrogantly, "Dragonkin. You and the Empire, and the rest of your allies will fail, as the Protheans have. You cannot stop the Cycle."
As the Protheans have? That would mean...
In a moment's notice, Gabriel took out what looked like a pistol and fired three shots into the transformed Collector, its body disintegrating upon death into a pile of inanimate ashes.
Following the death of the transformed Collector, bright lances of emerald green shot forth from the sky, incinerating many a Collector until nothing, not even ash, was left of them.
This meant only one thing.
The defense fleet was victorious; they had driven the enemy back.
The defenders let out a jubiliant roar as the last of the enemy fell, Kiritsugu only sighing as the adrenaline of battle left his body.
Gabriel was about to talk to the Dragonkin, when Nova ran up to Kiritsugu and kissed him on the cheek, making him blush furiously as his ears twitched in embarassment.
The Blood Raven's blood ran cold; xenos and alien races were the enemies of humanity, and a union between a xeno and a Human was the last thing the Imperium would ever tolerate.
Yet, this Eldar – who insisted that he was part-Elven, the name unfamiliar to him – was uncharacteristically flushing in embarassment when that Human woman kissed him, and since Space Marines were forbidden from forming... intimate relationships, Gabriel could not understand why this Eldar-no, Elf, had fallen for a Human.
He had to focus; now was not the time to dwadle on his own thoughts, now was the time to familiarise himself with this unknown place, at least until he was found by his fellow brothers or some Imperial Guardsmen.
"Now that the abominations have been driven back-" Gabriel began.
"Collectors," Kiritsugu corrected, "Those abominations we fought are known as the Collectors."
"As I was saying," Gabriel continued, "Now that the Collectors have been driven back, I wish to know where I am."
Kiritsugu sighed heavily, and after asking Nova to wait at the inner city districts, he then said, "We'd best do this at the command centre; I have to oversee several new reports that have just been sent to me."
"Fine with me," Gabriel said as he slung his hammer over his back.
IIOII
Gabriel Angelos was feeling terribly disgusted as of now.
To be surrounded by Xenos and heretical Humans in an alien galaxy was the worst possible thing that could ever happen to an honorable Adeptus Astartes, even more so for a Chapter Master of the Blood Ravens, who had dedicated his entire life to purging the galaxy of the God Emperor's foes.
From what the Dragonkin admiral had told him, he was currently on a newly-established colony that was jointly organised between this Thedosian Empire – which was allied with several other factions – and the Turian Hierarchy, in a bid to establish better relations between the two sides; avian aliens coexisting with Humans, Eldar and other humanoid species, it was unfathomable to anyone living as an Imperial citizen or the Imeprium's foes.
And Kiritsugu was a living example of a Xenomix, an offspring of two different races mating together.
But he was part Dragon, not because of his unit type, but a literal Dragon, something thought mythical, impossible to even exist, and the Dragonkin before him proved him wrong.
There was certainly one time he had to ally with an Eldar farseer by the name of Taldeer, but that was purely out of mutual benefit to prevent Chaos forces from securing an incredibly powerful artefact that would spell the end of the Imperium.
"So these Collectors have been trying to abduct Human colonists from this Systems Alliance?" Gabriel inquired, disgusted by the loud noises he was hearing.
"That was what happened, right before the UAP had even encountered the Citadel Council," The Dragonkin admiral confirmed, uncaring about his table manner as he slurped loudly on his noodles, finishing his thrid bowl as he stacked it on top of the empty ones beside him, "But for them to so brazenly attack us and with so much force, I think that invasion force was meant to test our capabilities."
And it was not just the Empire's capabilities they were testing, the Terrans and Protoss were also beseiged by the same Collectors that attacked New Halamshiral, though they were predictably driven back by the defense forces stationed at the neighbouring colonies.
Just then, Gabriel heard a ringing sound, which was followed by a black glow appearing on Kiritsugu's right arm.
"This is Admiral Kiritsugu speaking," He answered into the black glowing device on his arm.
"Admiral, the SSV Normandy has arrived at the colony," A male Dwarf reported, "Commander Shepard will soon make her way to the Spaceport, where one of the personnel will attend to her shortly."
"Tell her that there will be a slight change in the number of charges assigned to her," Kiritsugu said, "There will be an urgent need to shore up our defenses now that the leaders have received news of this attack."
"Understood admiral," The Dwarf saluted before cutting the connection, allowing Kiritsugu's attention to return to the now curious Space Marine before him.
"Chapter Master Angelos," Kiritsugu addressed him, "Ever considered taking the fight to the Collectors themselves?"
IIOII
The Spaceport was brimming with activity since the attack. Fresh troops were being offloaded from transport ships to replenish the casualties – both Thedosian and Turian – sustained in the defense of the colony, and dozens of crates carrying all sorts of supplies were being carried by dockhands to unload their contents elsewhere.
As the Normandy docked at it's designated docking space, the magical fields securing the ship in place, a slender figure stepped out of the ship, wearing a black and white skin-tight suit with a golden hexagonal symbol emblazoned on the right shoulder sleeve.
Shepard was rather anxious to fight the Collectors and take out their base of operations, but the engineer in Shepard was drooling at the design of the spaceport's interior.
The walls looked incredibly sturdy, as if defying any natural disaster that threatened to shake it's foundations. At multiple sections, floating crystals served both an aesthetic yet functional purpose, providing ample light yet adding a hint of elegance to the place.
The massive ships docking at the spaceport measured up to a kilometre long, but when they docked, the same magical fields that held the Normandy in place also did the same to the other ships, making them literally float in mid-air which allowed engineers and technicians to investigate every last aspect of the ships, leaving no stone unturned in their tireless maintainance.
Although the Turian ships were still of the same design when she last saw them, they were certainly bigger in size and plated with thicker armor, and bore new types of arnaments that Shepard did not see before.
One of the personnel on station, a Quinari man went up to her and asked, "Are you commander Shepard?"
"I am," She answered.
"Admiral Kiritsugu is waiting for you at the Command centre," The Quinari stated in his deep voice, "He requests that you be punctual in your arrival."
Although Shepard believed that she had time to spare, she felt it better to quickly get her new teammates before she did anything else.
"Lead the way," She said.
As she walked along the brightly-lit corridors, she took occasional glances at the different facilities of the place, finding the odd bit of Turian architecture mixing with the elegant Thedosian designing.
As she passed one of their traning facilities, she saw whole lines of Thedosian soldiers shouting as they swung their blades with fervor, their bare chests sweating heavily under the intensity of their training.
Undertsandably, the Turians she saw never practiced with a real blade, only their omni-blades since they were something none of them were really familiar with yet.
Soon, they reached a set of ornate, sturdy doors, gold engravings glowing an eerie cerulean blue. As they parted, the Qunari politely asked Shepard to step inside and wait for Kiritsugu to bring her assigned charges.
The command centre itself was rather spacious, a large circular table occupying the centre of the room with a round metallic device bearing steel grey lights adorning the centre of it.
In one seat at the far end was a white-haired Dragonkin, whom Shepard assumed was Admiral Kiritsugu, in formal military dress code with a black linen sash across his torso, his right breast adorned with several medals of honor.
"Commander Shepard, I presume?" The Admiral asked.
"And you must be Admiral Kiritsugu," Shepard mused as the doors closed behind her, "So where are my assigned charges?"
"Everyone else that is present," Kiritsugu said, pointing his hand to those filling up all but one seat, presumably for her.
There were two Turians present, one of them being Garrus himself as identified by the blue markings on his mandibles. Garrus himself wore polished black, form-fitting armor with a Turian script adorning his breastplate, the pauldrons shaped like the heads of roaring dragons with turquoise glowing eyes, while the other was in standard silver armor that looked similar in design to the old Turian suits of armor, the exception being a new crystal of Exso implanted in the centre of the chest.
"My name is Captain Achamus Posdos, of the 26th Armiger Legion of the Turian Hierarchy," the other Turian introduced himself.
Shepard swore that Garrus' armor was purposefully looking at her.
After waving hello to Garrus, who waved back at her – the Admiral not minding it one bit, she could also see Tali in a rather exotic exosuit with pieces of armor affixed to her vital points.
As it was the first time Shepard saw Tali without her polarized visor on, she initially did not recognise her, until Tali joyfully called out her name from her seat.
"Shepard!"
It was more than enough for Shepard to recognise her by her voice.
"Tali?"
After a brief reunion hug between the two, irking someone present in the process, they both sat back down on their seats.
Present along with the others was a Krogan in armor who looked awfully similar to Wrex, a large hammer on his back, a Blood Elf in leather armor with a staff strapped to his back, ebony hair draped past his shoulders, and an Orc – if Shepard remembered correctly – in rough leather armor bearing Orcish runes, a white bear pelt draped on top of his head across his back.
"I am Arkail, recently promoted Adept of the 2nd Beserker Corps of the Empire, at your service," The Orc introduced himself.
"I am Urdnot Grunt," The Krogan grunted, "Firstborn of High Chancellor Wrex and self-made Battlemaster."
"Didn't expect Wrex to have a son of his own," Shepard commented.
"And I am Welearis Embergaze," The Blood Elf politely bowed, "At your service."
After them were three Protoss; a Tal'darim Blood Hunter in black armor, who flexed his clawed fingers in anticipation, a Khalai Zealot with a golden shaft attached to his golden armor, and a Nerazim Centurion, the dark purple shroud over where an orofice would be draping down over his steel grey armor.
{I am Praetor Thrakos, of Aiur,} The Khalai Zealot stated, nodding curtly at Shepard. {The Nerazim Centurion and... Tal'darim Blood Hunter, are Taedarix and Telrisis respectively.}
She could notice the palpable tension between the Nerazim and Khalai, and the Tal'darim; just because they were allied did not mean they were willing to easily forget the years of bloodshed.
Next was a Terran Ghost in a white bodysuit, her golden blonde hair tied in a long ponytail.
"I'm Nova Terra, Senior Ghost operative of the Terran Dominion," She said, remaining rather aloof to most of those present, though she did wink seductively at the Admiral himself, making him mometarily smirk in response.
Afterwards was a female Dragonkin in Human form, wearing thin black armor over her body, and a female Pandaren in a black outfit with her long ebony hair tied in a long ponytail.
"I am Baozhai, agent of the Shado-pan," The Pandaren introduced herself, "This is Venia Sardothien, ranged combat specialist of the 8th Warhammer Division."
Venia only smiled with no humor at Shepard, the chilling aura she radiated sending shivers down Shepard's spine.
Finally, there were two other Humans present; a giant of a man in blood red armor emblazoned with a golden-winged skull, and another – who was not a giant – in golden plated armor seated next to him.
"I am Aldrige, personal bodyguard of Emperor Amarthathor himself," The Golden-armored man stated.
"And I am Chapter Master Gabriel Angelos, of the Space Marines Blood Ravens Chapter serving the Imperium of Man," The giant of a man said, nearly catching Shepard off-guard.
If she could recall correctly, there was that one time where she played a century-old game called Warhammer 40k: Dawn of War, where Gabriel Angelos was the main character. For him to literally exist in flesh and blood...
She decided against telling him the truth, lest she be reprimanded by the man himself for uttering what may well be an insult to him.
As for Aldrige, she could not help but feel that he resembled someone she used to know.
Someone dear and precious to her.
Someone she had lost to the Batarian slavers.
She fought to keep her emotions from swelling within her, schooling her expression into a neutral one as Kiritsugu began to brief all of them.
"Due to an attack on our soil by the Collectors-" Kiritsugu began, but was cut off.
"Wait, did you say the Collectors attacked you?" Shepard asked in disbelief, unsure of the sudden turn of events.
Sighing heavily, the Dragonkin answered, "Yes, they attacked us last night, and the bordering colonies as well."
Activating the round device with a wave of his omni-tool, it displayed three planets – all of them garden worlds – with swathes of red dots appearing near them and the blue dots that were near the planets.
"This happened at 11.03PM standard time, and the force present was not meant to siege us, given the numbers," Kiritsugu explained, then theorised, "I believe it was to test our capabilities instead, after finding about our overwhelming victory over the Council."
{My people have valiantly fought off the Collectors, partly in thanks to our superior technology, as have the Dominion's forces,} Thrakos added, {However, we must be cautious of our old enemies as well.}
"Indeed," Welearis said, "We cannot disregard the possibility of the Burning Legion seizing this opportunity to weaken our people once more."
"But what about the Ethereals?" Tali pointed out, "We can't ignore them either; they have several slave races at their disposal to wage their wars for them."
"Which is why we must eliminate the Collectors here and now," Kiritsugu stated, all eyes turning to him, "We cannot afford to waste too much time on dealing with the Collectors as of now. If we are to be amply prepared for the impending invasion, we must take out the Collectors' base of operations quickly and swiftly, and slaughter them to the last."
"But we cannot deploy an assault fleet so hastily, brother," Venia countered, "And we must assume that the Collectors and Heretic Geth are on high alert, given how easily we defeated the Batarians and bested the Turians."
It was no secret that the Geth had split into two factions when an unknown AI named Nazara, most likely a Reaper, made contact with them. The Asari response was that they did not care one single bit; all were the same, no matter their creators, but the Empire and Purifiers – a faction of Protoss AI – were sympathetic to the loyalist Geth about the betrayal.
"Which is why we will deploy a strike force comprised of a joint UAP force to aid Shepard in her endeavours, and I will be leading it," A baritone voice boomed from behind Shepard, genuinely surprising her when she found out who it belonged to.
"Amarthathor?" She gasped.
A/N: So I have put Gabriel Angelos from Warhammer 40k inside, because I want to show the Collectors the meaning of fighting an Adeptus Astartes.
One thing to tell you guys is that if you have not noticed, I have created a new account on Wattpad, my username is the same as here on Fanfiction, and I have created a link to my account page so you can read a story I posted there.
Hopefully I will see you there.
Until then, this is Ebanu8.